


Rocket Men.

by cucumberandlime



Category: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oneshot, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 00:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19261948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cucumberandlime/pseuds/cucumberandlime
Summary: The temperature in the ship is always regulated,kept at a nice luke-warm to keep everyone comfortable and happy. That doesn’t stop Dave from feeling cold,though. Inside and out.





	Rocket Men.

The clock read 23:00,in big red letters on the bottom left corner of the computer screen. Dave was finishing up his log for the day,adding on his last few activities to keep everything in check,in order,on schedule. He had trained for this for a long time,it was to be expected- the monotony of it all. But it’s just not in human nature to be left in silence all the time,left to just stare at a computer screen. He could barely keep his eyes open anymore,it was late,a day full of anxiousness shoving him towards sleep again. Already,he thought. There’s never enough time.  
Dragging his hands over his face,he thought he heard a faint hum of concern come from the speakers around him,but didn’t give it any acknowledgement. There was nothing Hal could do,anyway. “I’m heading off to bed,I think.” He spoke,almost wincing at the sound. He never thought even his own voice could sound so alien to him. “Alright,Dave. I’ll wake Dr. Poole and have him take your place. Goodnight.” Hal’s soft voice brought him just the slightest comfort. 

The distant,familiar sound of Frank’s alarm echoed down to him,his eyes flickering over to the sleeping pods neatly lined together. He swallowed,gripping onto the control panel in front of him to stop the sudden shaking of his hands. He couldn’t explain where it came from,why all of a sudden he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Why he was so damn cold. Lost in his own panic-induced thoughts,he barely noticed Frank emerging from the bed,his hair as neat as it had been previous to his 8 hour nap. “Hello,Dr. Poole.” Echoed around them,causing Dave to finally snap back to reality,his eyes fixed on his shoes. He couldn’t bring himself to look anywhere else,to greet the other man. Suddenly all tiredness in his body was gone,and the idea of going to sleep terrified him. The worst part was- he still didn’t know why.

“Hello,Hal.” Frank replied tiredly,his voice still heavy from sleep. He threw Dave a quick glance,but didn’t think much of his silence. Dave wasn’t the most talkative. He had his good days,days where he’d talk for hours about his childhood and dreams of being right where he is,his hobbies before,what he did back on Earth. Frank liked those days,he wouldn’t lie. But he knew those days,were just some days. He didn’t even have to speak to him to know that they would only have a few verbal exchanges that night. Hell of an intuition. Or maybe,he just knew him too well,after all this time. “Hello to you too,Dave.” Frank kept his voice at a volume only loud enough to barely hear,slowly standing to stretch. He kept his eyes on him expectantly as he approached,rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Dave took a moment to breath in before responding,unsure if he should mention the sweat on his palms or the rapid beating of his heart. His brain told him it was a sign of something worse,he was ill,needed to be isolated. But of course,this wasn’t the case. Anxiety isn’t known to be contagious.

“Hello,Frank. Did you sleep okay?” Was all he could think to ask,shifting his hands into his lap where he clasped them together snugly. It didn’t stop the trembling,but it did a good job concealing it. “I did,thank you. I assume you’re going to sleep now?” He asked,to which Dave nodded slightly. “Ah. The night shift already.. Eight hours doesn’t feel like so much anymore.” Frank allowed a small snicker as he took a seat beside his fellow astronaut,trying to hide the worry that was slowly manifesting on his face. He couldn’t help it,as much as he tried. He did care about him,after all. A bit too much. “You seem a little jumpy tonight,Dave. Look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He lifted a hand to nudge Dave’s cheek with his knuckle,causing his eyelashes to flutter in response,blue orbs snapping over to him cautiously. He looked all too calm,too distant. It was highly unsettling. “You’re pale. Are you sure you’re alright?” Frank managed to mumble through his nervousness,withdrawing his hand back to the arm of the chair. It didn’t take but a moment for Dave’s expression to soften almost apologetically,a faked,faint smile tugging at his lips. 

“I’m- I think so. I do feel a little bit uneasy,I will admit.” Dave said,digging his fingernails into the palm of his hand. “I suppose that’s normal,really. Being so far away from home,for so long. It’ll get to you.. Eventually.” He let his eyes fall away with that,internally allowing himself to bask in the comfort of that brief moment of physical contact- but not without shame. Frank nodded gently,an understanding hum following. He seemed like he was about to speak up,perhaps to comfort him,but Dave interrupted. “And I’m cold. I don’t know how,but I swear,my hands are shaking from it.” A dry laugh emitted from his chest as he lifted his still trembling hands,which he soon brought together again,squeezing them tighter than before. Frank could only stare at him for a few moments,the faint worry in him becoming more prominent. Mulling over his words,Frank slowly stood from his seat,offering a hand to the other man as calmly and casually as he could. “Here. Once you get into bed you’ll be just fine..” Dave could only stare back at him,trying not to look as shocked as he felt,willing the red hue that rose onto his face away. 

He didn’t protest. He silently took Frank’s hand into his own,bowing his head shyly as he stood and followed him to the sleeping pods. Just looking at the thing made him feel the claustrophobia creeping up on him,but he sat down on the mattress nevertheless,offering Frank a smile on eye contact. “Thank you.” He murmured,giving his hand a little squeeze before he attempted to let go- but Frank didn’t let his grip slip even a bit. He too gave a smile- but it was sweeter,warmer. Dave had to fight to keep his breath from catching in his throat. “You’re welcome. Lie down,now. I’ll stay here with you,if you’d like me too,until you fall asleep,” He paused as Dave did as told,his eyes flickering over to the computer console with a soft sigh. “Or until Hal needs me.” He nodded gently,barely even questioning it as Frank pulled the blankets over him,rubbing circles onto the back of his hand all the while. His hands weren’t shaking anymore,but neither of them noticed,too caught up in each other’s presence. “T-thank you,really.. You don’t have to,you know. I’ll be alright.” Dave yawned quietly as he settled further into the mattress,watching Frank kneel down onto the floor next to the pod with a disapproving raise of his brow. “Really. I’m alright..”

“Uh-huh,” Frank hummed,resting his chin on the edge of the smooth surface encasing him. “I’ll stay here anyway. I much prefer sitting here,with you,than in that uncomfortable chair staring at buttons.” As he finished his sentence,he gave Dave’s hand a gentle squeeze,watching as his eyelids grew heavier and a sleepy smile just barely appeared on his face. “Stubborn.” Dave mumbled,returning the squeeze as he instinctively shifted closer. “After we get home,I owe you one,mm?” Frank couldn’t help but chuckle at him,hesitance in his movements,dark eyes studying every feature on Dave’s face as if he would never see him again. “Sure. I know a good place,we could go bowling,have pizza.” He murmured,resting his forehead against the other’s carefully. It was so strange to be so close to him,when he was usually so distant. He’d never seen Dave like this,so affectionate and warm,even though it wasn’t much. He couldn’t stop smiling. “But only if you’re up for it.” “Shh,of course. Like I said,I owe you. That sounds fun.” He could barely get his words out,now that the anxiety was subsiding,he was slipping out of consciousness much faster than expected. “But right now,I don’t think I can hold a proper conversation.. But.. I really appreciate your help,Frank. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to sleep like- like that.” He swallowed,giving his hand one more squeeze before letting go. They had to shut the pod,had to get back to business as usual. Hopefully they wouldn’t pretend like this didn’t happen. But it was more than likely.

“You’re always welcome. Have a goodnight,now. I’ll see you when you wake up.” He gave the blanket a little tug to bring it over his shoulder before smoothing it down,his cheeks flushing as Dave so easily relaxed into his touch. What he would do to be able to hold him,help him feel a little safer,at home in all this. “I’ll hold you to that,by the way. Bowling and pizza. Won’t let you forget.” Dave only replied with a smile,eyes closed as Hal shut the pod for them,distancing them from one another yet again. He tried to push down the dread that had already surfaced from being separated from him,but he was far too tired to worry about it,at the moment. He couldn’t even move. Frank didn’t move away for a minute or two,calmly watching him drift off to sleep there in front of him. He wished he could get Dave to smile like that more,have more casual conversations,get to know everything about him. He cursed himself for the warmth rising in his chest,the comfort that the feeling of Dave’s hand in his own brought. He knew feeding into these feelings would only end badly,but he hoped he’d have the chance to do this again. Perhaps under happier circumstances.

For the moment,he just shook those thoughts away,turning on his heel to head back to the console and discuss with Hal what it was he needed to do before morning. He felt that if he didn’t get his mind of that smile for a while,he might implode. So much for keeping it professional.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! :-) This is my first ever posted fanfic so please be gentle with me! I adore this pairing and the movie so so much so I thought I should make some content for the (very small) fandom. I mainly wrote this for myself so I apologize if there's any mistakes with the spelling/grammar anywhere. If you liked it,please leave kudos,it encourages me to do more!


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